The bi-monthly focus for May and June is Change.

With Spring in the air and Summer around the corner, it seems like everything is turning a new leaf this time of year.

Even with the cooler weather we are having here in Ireland at the moment – May and June still feel like months of change!

And it certainly is a good time of year to embrace change, to try new things, dust off the old routines, reignite and shake things up a little.

Change and growth ultimately starts from within – and through our practices we can learn to navigate the ever-changing ebb and flow of life with more ease and joy.

When we practice yoga and meditation (as well as other mindful techniques) we connect to a deeper inner awareness and invite internal enquiry.

We cultivate sensitivity, honesty, openness, focus and generosity.

And we become more resilient enabling us to allow, to accept and to embrace change.

Tantric yoga describes change as the ever-changing nature of Shakti, or the deep-rooted, dynamic power and divine energy at the heart of life.

Shakti continually manifests things into being, fuels them for a while and then dissolves them.

Every cell, every moment, is part of this continuous flow of creation, sustenance, and dissolution.

Buddhists refer to change as Anitya or impermanence and tell us that change is inevitable, continuous, and unavoidable.

So in other words, Everything changes!

But we all know this already through our own experiences of life – and we also know that change is not always easy!

We feel change externally in our environment as the flow of seasons, as cycles in nature and in diversity of cultures.

We feel change internally within ourselves, in physical and mental states as we experiences the ups and downs of life and flow through thoughts, emotions, sensations and the many movements in our mind.

Connecting, acknowledging and recognising the divine nature of the process of change and impermanence can bring ease and enable us to greet change with more acceptance, honour and surrender.

More so, we empower ourselves to partner and to co-create with change as we continue on our journey – and hopefully we find ourselves feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and feeling positive toward CHANGE in our lives!

I look forward to sharing space, having fun and embracing change together!

With Love & Blessings

PS: Don’t forget you can join me on 17 May for and evening workshop! FRIDAY FEEL GOOD: Full Moon practice and feel good flow - 7:30pm to 9:30pm - @YogaDublin Ranelagh, Dublin 6

Our bi-monthly focus for March and April 2019 is Connection

Connection to ourselves, to others and to our environment is an important part of our human experience. It gives life real depth and real meaning.

And everything is connected by ‘prana’ (life-force), or what we often refer to as ‘energy.’

This energy flows within us and around us, it is literally the pulsation, the vitality, the breathe and power that flows through our life!

Understanding this sense of connection, and knowing that we all have an energetic effect through words, actions, and even thoughts reminds us to treat ourselves, others and our environment with kindness, love and respect.

As we flow and move together in yoga posture practice on the mat, we connect between breath, mind and body which leads to greater connection off the mat with friends, family, partners, colleagues, strangers and our environment.

Positive Psychology researcher Barbara Fredrickson states, “What we’ve learned is that when people move together as one orchestrated unit, they later report that they experienced an embodied sense of rapport with each other—they say they felt alive, connected, with a mutual sense of warmth and trust as they converse. Other studies concur. When synchrony is surreptitiously produced in experimental studies—by having people walk, tap, sing, sway, or rock together in time—it breeds liking, cooperation, and compassion as well as success in joint action.”

Other research shows that yoga posture practice can improve the function of the vagus nerve, a key nerve in resilience and connection.

People with low vagal tone tend to have more trouble recovering from stressful events, while people with higher vagal tone tend to recover with greater ease. And, in addition to indicating one’s level of resilience, vagal tone is also correlated with feelings of social connection. The greater your vagal tone, the greater your perceived sense of connection.

Additional studies on Loving-kindness and compassion based meditation, in which you actively send good wishes to yourself and others, has also been shown to improve both vagal tone and feelings of social connection.

Meditation is a key yoga practice to facilitate intuitive connection and connection to innate wisdom. When the mind moves from a place of doing to non-doing, a space is created for intuition, wisdom, insight, clarity and connection to arise.

Connecting with nature can also be incredibly invigorating and leave us feeling deeply connected to our immediate environment. There are so many simple ways to do this; practicing outdoors, taking a walk, cycling, sitting out in the garden, having picnic in the park or whatever it is you choose. That same energetic connection and prana we experience with each other also extends to our environment.

This all means that we have an abundance of ways to cultivate and nurture connection in our lives!

I firmly believe that the more connected we are in life, the happier we are, the kinder we are, the better we feel and the more fun we have!

I look forward to sharing space, having fun and cultivating connection together!

With Love & Blessings

PS: Join me for FRIDAY EVENING WORKSHOPS, 7:30pm to 9:30pm on 1 March, 22 March, 5 April, 17 May@YogaDublin Ranelagh. We will connect with the specific moon cycle, the elements of Yoga, with each other, have fun and feel good!

Our bi-monthly focus to start 2019 in January and in February is Kindness.

That’s rightKindness.

Are you a little surprised?! Were you expecting me to go on about making Resolutions?

To tell you to write up your goals list? Or maybe to you thought I’d say things like… “time to yoga, yoga, yoga… meditate, meditate… diet, diet, diet … be more productive… be a certain way… don’t do this… do this…” and that I would lay the pressure on and spout all of these instructions under a guise of supporting our well-being?

Well, surprise! I am not going to suggest that you to do any of that, nor will I be putting that pressure on myself.

So, let’s all take a deep breathe, slow down and ease into 2019 with Kindness!

Be kind to yourself and be kind to others.

And as always, I encourage our focus on kindness to inspire and fuel our yoga, meditation and mindfulness practices, to come into our classes, workshops and sessions, and I am personally excited to start the year keeping this in mind in my practices and in my life in the coming months.

Ahhhh, now that feels good, doesn’t it! But why No to New Year resolutions?

Don’t get me wrong, the start of each year can be a useful time to reflect, review and tune soulfully inwards. But this is more in line with discovering our “aspirations” and revealing “intentions” – and these words have a much softer, lighter feel than “New Year Resolutions”, don’t they?

And while, we certainly benefit in taking personal responsibility and an active role in our lives - New Year resolutions do not offer the most effective, positive way to invite and move towards that. They really are not a vehicle to nurture and uplift ourselves, especially at this time of year, and in fact they often have an opposite effect leaving us feeling discouraged, overwhelmed and disempowered.

Setting resolutions and listing goals, goals, goals at a time of year when we are traditionally still hibernating here the northern hemisphere (or are only beginning to flow into summer in the southern hemisphere) is out of sync with the natural rhythm of the seasons. It is a time of transition when we are meant to go gently with ourselves.

Additionally, in making New Year resolutions we often put unrealistic, unsustainable demands on ourselves that come from listening to that critical voice within that reinforces self-doubt, feeds false beliefs that we are not enough and leaves us feeling deflated and unmotivated.

Instead of self-criticism, if we try to focus on kindness as we reflect, review and look inwards we create healthy self-talk that positively moves us towards putting intentions into action that enable us to realise aspirations that support personal growth, life learning, health, wellness and allow positive changes that enrich our experience of life.

But, where and how do we start to make the kindness shift?

Here’s one simple way:

1.) Start by asking and answering questions that focus on our gifts.

What qualities/characteristics do I love about myself?

What do I love about my body?

What makes me feel good (body/mind/spirit)?

Who uplifts my me and leaves me smiling?

2.) Write it down. There is benefit in writing the answers down – it can be a brainstorm, a list, phrases, whatever works for you – but by writing it down we reinforce kindness and give ourselves recognition for all the beautiful, amazing, perfect things about ourselves!

3.) Finally, coming from that place a of self-love, set the intention to do more of what supports and feeds the positive aspects that are already present in you and your life.

Again, write down your ideas of what you might like to do – you’ll be more likely to do more of those things if you write them down and this can us help identify what they are.

As part of your kindness shift - be sure to surround yourself with people who nurture you and who you nurture. Take time on your own too – and do whatever, however, with whoever, feeds positive thought, words and actions in your life.

Know that in fostering that kindness to ourselves not only makes us happier, healthier and feels good; it gives us the energy to share and spread kindness to others.

So…

“Be Sensitive, Be Honest, Be Open, Cultivate Intimacy and Generosity”

You might recognise those words, it is a phrase that I share and repeat when guiding you in our practices. It is a positive translation of the Yamas, which is the first limb of Yoga that refers to external yogic guidelines.

In Sanskrit the Yamas are “Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha”

I hope that with that you might feel the Yamas resonate that bit more and have you diving deeper in your practice on and off the mat – with Kindness.

Happy 2019! I look forward to sharing space and Kindness over the coming months.

With Love & Blessings

PS: Reminder that I will be doing 3 special Fridayevening workshops on 18 Jan, 25 Jan and 1 Feb, 7:30pm to 9:30pm @YogaDublin Ranelagh. Hope you can Join me and start our 2019 feeling good!

You are magic!

Our bi-monthly focus for November + December is the Gift and Spirit of Giving.

As always, I encourage this to inspire and fuel our yoga, meditation and mindfulness practices, to come into our classes, workshops and sessions, and I will certainly keep this focus in mind over the coming months for my own personal practices and life.

Happy November, Happy December – the last two months of 2018 are upon us!

As the end of the year and the holiday season approaches we can often feel the pressure mounting - Christmas (here in Dublin) seems to come earlier and earlier each year!

Each of us has our own traditions and unique ways of celebrating or marking this time of year (whether practicing a specific religion or not).

Often this means time spent gathering with friends and family. This social time can be full of fun, love and laughter – but it can also be stressful, have us feeling on edge and exhausted.

It may mean spending time on your own over the holiday season (and many people do). This solo time can be peaceful, contemplative, and nurturing - but can be also be lonely, have us feeling down and agitated.

I personally have done the holidays many ways (and for me the holidays means celebrating Christmas and New Years’). I have shared this time with loved ones and I have also spent it on my own due to various life circumstances, as well as by my own choice, travel or deciding to go on retreat.

The one thing this season has in common for us all, no matter how it’s spent, is it presents us with both blessings and challenges!

It’s easy to get lost in the fun, frenzy and feelings and to forget the insights that this time of year and the season of giving can offer to us.

It is important to remind ourselves that in giving (to others, as well as to ourselves!) there is a beautiful gift… Giving evokes a spirit of Gratitude.

We naturally express gratitude and thanks when receiving, but there is gratitude in the giving too!

Gratitude for having that person to in our life to give to.

Gratitude when giving to ourself, being thankful for the ability to nurture and care for ourself.

This Gratitude is the Gift of Giving!

An article published by The Greater Good Science Centre at UC Berkley notes the following:

In a 2006 study, Jorge Moll and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health found that when people give, it activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure, social connection, and trust, creating a “warm glow” effect.

Other research has found that gratitude is integral to happiness, health, and social bonds. And I would add that gratitude is also integral to connection to ourselves.

Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, co-directors of the Research Project on Gratitude and Thankfulness, found that teaching college students to “count their blessings” and cultivate gratitude caused them to exercise more, be more optimistic, and feel better about their lives overall.

A study led by Nathaniel Lambert at Florida State University found that expressing gratitude to a close friend or romantic partner strengthens our sense of connection to that person.

I would propose that it would also come to reason that expressing self-gratitude also strengthens our sense of connection to ourselves.

Barbara Fredrickson, a pioneering happiness researcher, suggests that cultivating gratitude in everyday life is one of the keys to increasing personal happiness. “When you express your gratitude in words or actions, you not only boost your own positivity but [other people’s] as well,” she writes in her book Positivity. “And in the process you reinforce their kindness and strengthen your bond to one another.”

So, it seems that science agrees with what ancient wisdom has said for millennia, The Gift of Giving is Gratitude!

We can look to Pantajali’s Yoga Sutras on how to bring this spirit and gift into our practice and ultimately into our life.

On the yoga mat in our posture practice and in our meditation and mindful practices we can look to one of the five Niyamas (internal observances) of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, called Santosha.

Santosha is considered an essential and fundamental foundation of yogic practice.

Often translated as ‘contentment’- Santosha can also be translated, perhaps in a deeper and more useful way, to mean ‘Equanimity.’

Equanimity is a state of psychological mind/soul stability and composure which is balanced and undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, discomfort, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind/soul.

In essence,from a yogic perspective, Equanimity is the ability to be with what is.

We can practice Santosha (equanimity) in Yoga posture practice by letting go of the desire to attain the perfect looking pose, by working within our current ability and feeling and accepting the experience of the pose as it is without wanting to force or to change it.

We can apply Santosha (equanimity) in our Mediation and Mindfulpractices by noticing our thoughts, feelings, emotions in a given moment, by observing without judging, without criticising or analysis and by acknowledging and accepting whatever arises.

Through cultivating Santosha (equanimity) in our practices we become present in our life to what is actually happening, we become aware of what experience is being given and of what we are giving.

This allows us to take space for the beautiful Gift of Giving and for Gratitude.

Wishing you Joy, Fun & Laughter and many moments of Gratitude.

And I look forward to sharing space and cultivating Santosha together over the coming months.

Reminder of our bi-monthly Focus of the Month in case you missed it in or perhaps want to read it again & refresh.

Happy October!

The bi-monthly focus for September + October 2018 is Fostering Resilience.

This will inspire and fuel our yoga, meditation and mindfulness practices, our classes, workshops and sessions, as well as my own personal practices and life!

Resilience is our ability to adapt and bounce back after challenges and difficult times when things don't go as planned or as we had hoped for.

Fostering Resilience allows us to go with the flow, while cultivating a positive mindset, with acknowledgment of where we are and what is happening in any given moment of life.

Life can be tricky, it moves in a continuous ever-changing ebb & flow. The journey is full of beauty and sorrow, joy and pain, ease and challenge - and we all experience a full spectrum of thoughts, feelings and emotions.

How we cope with adversity, stress, the good, and the bad affects how we experience our life, and this why that having a resilient mindset, heart and spirit is so important.

It is through our experiences, perspective and how we navigate life that we learn and grow and have the opportunity to connect to each other, to Soul, to Universal energy and the Divine.

There are many practices, habits and attitudes that can Foster Resilience in our life... Yoga, Meditation, Breathe, Mindfulness, Gratitude, Appreciation, Kindness, Intention, Compassion, Empathy, Letting go of judgement, Letting go of criticism, No blame, Taking personal Responsibility, Playing an active role in our life, Commitment, Love... the choices go on and on.

Identifying and adopting what support us in facing challenge and flowing with what is, rather than trying to force what isn’t, builds our ability to be present and is key to fostering resilience, increasing our health and well-being, and ultimately inviting 'be happy feel good' energy into our life!

Over the coming months, I invite us all to practice, to self-enquire, self-reflect and explore building foundations for what Fosters Resilience in our life and in ourselves.

With Love & Blessings

The bi-monthly focus for September + October 2018 is Fostering Resilience.

This will inspire and fuel our yoga, meditation and mindfulness practices, our classes, workshops and sessions, as well as my own personal practices and life!

Resilience is our ability to adapt and bounce back after challenges and difficult times when things don't go as planned or as we had hoped for.

Fostering Resilience allows us to go with the flow, while cultivating a positive mindset, with acknowledgment of where we are and what is happening in any given moment of life.

Life can be tricky, it moves in a continuous ever-changing ebb & flow. The journey is full of beauty and sorrow, joy and pain, ease and challenge - and we all experience a full spectrum of thoughts, feelings and emotions.

How we cope with adversity, stress, the good, and the bad affects how we experience our life, and this why that having a resilient mindset, heart and spirit is so important.

It is through our experiences, perspective and how we navigate life that we learn and grow and have the opportunity to connect to each other, to Soul, to Universal energy and the Divine.

There are many practices, habits and attitudes that can Foster Resilience in our life... Yoga, Meditation, Breathe, Mindfulness, Gratitude, Appreciation, Kindness, Intention, Compassion, Empathy, Letting go of judgement, Letting go of criticism, No blame, Taking personal Responsibility, Playing an active role in our life, Commitment, Love... the choices go on and on.

Identifying and adopting what support us in facing challenge and flowing with what is, rather than trying to force what isn’t, builds our ability to be present and is key to fostering resilience, increasing our health and well-being, and ultimately inviting 'be happy feel good' energy into our life!

Over the coming months, I invite us all to practice, to self-enquire, self-reflect and explore building foundations for what Fosters Resilience in our life and in ourselves.

With Love & Blessings

Happy August Full Moon!

Those of you who have practiced with me in classes, workshops and sessions will have already heard my thoughts on the full moon and new moon in relation to yoga and meditation - and will know that I love the Moon! and personally resonate with its nurturing energy.

Moon cycles are a useful rhythm and present an opportunity to take time to pause, to reflect and to quietly contemplate what brings us harmony, generates joy and fuels ourbe happy feel good.

I remind and encourage us all to take time around the Full Moon, this month (26 August) and every month, to invite release and let go of what no longer serves us, to complete what we intended to do and make space for the new.

Let's send our intention to the universe to free any blocks, shift what needs to shift, to put in motion our intentions and empower us in taking actions that manifest our 'highest' aspirations - with gratitude for exactly where we are right now and appreciation for the journey ahead.

Sending Full Moon Blessings, Rani x

* In case you missed our focus of the monthS for July+August (originally posted on 1st July) - Or if you want to read it again, review and refresh *

The focus for both July + August 2018 is LivingIntention & Setting Intentions and will inspire and fuel our yoga and meditation classes, workshops, sessions, and my own personal practices. (Yes, this focus is extending over 2 months)

As we move into July and onwards into August, with relaxed sunny, summer days, it feels like a perfect time of year to consider Intention a little more deeply, to share some thoughts and practical ways we might bring or re-ignite intention in our lives.

Intentions are a wonderful way to help us stay grounded, connected and to reconnect with what matters to us most.

Inviting an intention into the centre of our mind and our heart space that is in union with our personal thoughts, values and perspective on life is a beautiful way to connect to our own inherit wisdom and guidance.

Silently stating our intention(s) at the beginning of our meditation or yoga practice is a great place to start but we can choose any moment to set an intention like when you wake, before you go to sleep, over a coffee anytime that feels right!

I find it most useful and beneficial to make my statement of intentions as clear and as specific as possible.

For me, this means that I often need to take a little bit of time to reflect on what my current personal intentions might be or daydream and allow an intention to come to me - and I usually stay with the same intentions for a good few weeks, months or sometimes longer as feels right for me.

Here are some ‘thought-starters’ that I like to use sometimes and that may help get you started in forming and connecting to an intention:

What are you grateful for?

What matters most to you right now?

What would you like to build, create, nurture or invite in your life?

What would you like to let go of? Or Who would you like to forgive in your life?

What fears would you like to release?

What makes you feel good about yourself?

How do you feel when you are your happiest self?

What word(s) would you like to align yourself with?

Once our intentions have come to mind and into our hearts, it is important to keep it positive, to state them in the present with us taking an active role in the intention(s).

For example, instead of saying “Stop being a coward” - Say positivley and actively “I am courageous, brave and capable”

Here are some simple, positive ideas for statement of intentions:

I am grateful / I am grateful for…

I nourish my body, mind, spirit and soul…

I am healthy and able…

I invite peace…

I invite and attract abundance in all its forms…

I am a magnet for miracles…

I am perfect just as I am in this moment, that doesn’t mean there is no room for improvement, and there is no contradiction in this.

We can also choose to use simple word or phrases for intentions that we’d like to align ourselves- Here are some examples for inspiration:

Balanced

Open mind and heart

Peace

Steady, Calm and Focused

I act with courage

I embrace change

Give and receive Love

I allow myself to be vulnerable

Connected with others

Love

I hope that you find some of these intention setting ideas useful or that they resonate, but most important is that youconnect and create something that is personal for you.

We’ve been enjoying such beautiful summer here in Ireland, hope your enjoying this time of year no matter where you are!

And over these coming summer months (in the northern hemisphere), I invite us all to reflect inwards ,to connect, to live everyday with intention – and to invite, allow and manifest in being whatever it is we aspire to that brings joy, freedom and feel good into our lives!